The present invention relates to electrical connectors, especially to the electrical connectors equipped with a locking device that locks upon the coupling with a mating connector.
Electrical connectors are known that are equipped with locking devices that can be inserted in the housing to secure the connection of the connector with its mating counterpart. Such locking devices reinforce connection formed with the mating connector, and examples of electrical connectors of this type can be found in Japanese Patent Disclosure Nos. 2647335 and 2647336. Locking devices used in these connectors are designed so that they are attached to the housing in advance and are inserted therein after the connector is coupled with its counterpart, thus reinforcing the completed electrical connection. However, since the design of these locking devices does not provide for a fixed retention location, there is always a risk that the locking device may be accidentally inserted in the housing. In such a case, attempts to couple the connectors may result in deformation or even damage of the locking device and other parts of the connector.
To improve this design, an electrical connector 100 shown in FIG. 17 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 9-326275. Electrical connector 100 has a housing 102 and a locking device 104 retained on the housing. The locking device 104, in turn, has a separate coupling-confirmation unit 106 that secures the locking device 104 in a specified location of the housing 102. Coupling-confirmation unit 106 has two arc-shaped lugs 110 joined together by a connecting bar 108. In a normal condition, the connecting bar 108 is engaged with the notches 114a in legs 114 of the locking device 104, thus preventing the locking device 104 from being inserted in the housing 102. Lower sections of the arc-shaped lugs 110 engage arc-shaped cams 112 of the housing 102. When housing 102 is coupled with a mating connector, the coupling-confirmation unit 106 is rotated by cams 112, thus changing the position of the connecting bar 108 and disengaging legs 114 therefrom, which results in the insertion of the locking device 104 in the housing 102.
However, the problem with the conventional electrical connector described in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 9-326275 is that the locking device 104 must have a separate coupling-confirmation unit 106, thus making the design more complicated and increasing the number of parts and assembly operations.
Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that is free of the above-mentioned problems, that is, a connector of a simple design that does not contain separate parts and that can be easily assembled.
The locking device of the electrical connector according to the present invention has a pair of beams as integral parts of a locking device that are slanted toward each other. The two beams have shoulders engaging with a stop member of the housing. Due to the engagement between the shoulders and the stop member, the locking device cannot be inserted in the housing before the housing is coupled with a mating connector. The important feature of the present invention is that during the coupling, the interaction of the mating connector with the beams results in releasing the engagement between the shoulders and the stop member so that the locking device can be moved to a locking position.
It is desirable that the stop member is wedge-shaped.
The shoulders are in the form of notches provided in edges facing each other of the beams.
The notches have a shape corresponding to that of the wedge-shaped stop member.
It is desirable that in the process of coupling, the beams are pushed apart to a position parallel to each other by a rib on the mating connector, and that the beams are maintained in the pushed-apart position by the rib inserted between them when the mating connector is inserted in the housing.
A locking device of an electrical connector according to the present invention has a pair of beams as an integral part of the locking device that are slanted in a direction toward each other. Engagement of shoulders of the beams with a stop member prevents the locking device from being inserted into the housing, but when the housing is coupled with a mating connector, the engagement between the shoulders and the stop member is released, thus rendering the following effect: namely, due to the fact that the two beams are an integral part of the locking device, the connector has fewer parts and a simpler construction. In addition, since the locking device is a single unit, the number of assembly operations is also reduced. Moreover, since the locking device can be disengaged from a stopped position only if a mating connector is coupled to the housing, an accidental insertion of the locking device into the housing is impossible, thus preventing the locking device from deformation or damage. Since the locking device cannot be inserted into the housing unless the connectors are fully coupled, it can be used as a detector of incomplete coupling of the connectors.